A
BBA would “require extreme spending cuts” even during periods of economic
weakness and deny the ability of the federal government to enact
“countercyclical policies right when they are needed most,” write Henderson and
Zirkin. “As a result, the BBA would tip a struggling economy into a
recession and keep it there for a protracted period of time.”

The
letter also argues against language that requires a supermajority of both
houses of Congress to raise the nation’s debt limit or increase revenues. The
effects of these policies, Zirkin and Henderson warn, would be to force the
government to make drastic cuts to vital programs such as Social Security,
Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans’ benefits.

Passing
S.J.Res.3, S.J.Res.23, or any other proposed balanced
budget amendment, Henderson and Zirkin
conclude, is a “recipe for making recessions
more frequent, longer, and deeper, while requiring severe cuts that would
harshly affect seniors, children, veterans, people with disabilities, homeland
security activities, public safety, environmental protection, education and
medical research.”